Now 21,000 more council homes stand empty

Government moves to get tough on private landlords backfired today when new figures showed the number of empty council homes in London has risen by 21,000 under Labour.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott has announced sweeping plans to give town halls the power to seize flats and houses left vacant by landlords and use them to house the homeless.

But as his department declared that "we will not tolerate-houses sitting empty", the Evening Standard has found many Labour-run councils are presiding over thousands of boarded-up homes.

The number of empty council homes has risen from 100,000 in 1997 to 121,000 today, according to an answer to a parliamentary question. The biggest rises are in Barking and Dagenham, where the figure rose from 775 to 1,500 and Haringey from 3,500 to 5,300.

Tory-run Barnet and Bromley actually cut the number of empty council flats.

Shadow deputy prime minister Caroline Spelman said: "Labour should get its own house in order."

The moves to tackle empty private homes will be added to the Housing Bill going through the Commons, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister revealed today.

Housing Minister Keith Hill said the move to tackle 300,000 empty private sector homes reflected "a commitment to bringing long-term empty homes back into productive use".

"We will not tolerate houses sitting empty, becoming magnets for vandals and anti-social behaviour, at a time when there is a shortage of homes in some parts of this country," he said.

If targeted landlords refuse to upgrade their homes, councils would be given the power to issued management orders to seize them and let them out to tenants.

The owner retains legal ownership and entitlement to rental income after deductions for costs of its relevant costs, for example renovation of the property.